Answer Man: Apartments replaced by parking lot on Coxe Avenue?

A reader asks what's going on with a lot on Coxe Avenue that was supposed to have more than 100 apartments built on it.
John Boyle/jboyle@citizen-times.com

This 1.7-acre lot at 185 Coxe Ave. was slated for an apartment development, but it appears those plans have stalled. The lot is not a paid surface parking lot.(Photo: John Boyle/jboyle@citizen-times.com)

Question: Although Tribute Properties indicated from your last inquiry that they still planned to move forward with their apartment project at 185 Coxe Ave., it appears that they have now opted to turn it into a paid surface parking lot. What a waste of such a great space. Why the change in direction? I know parking is at a premium in that area of downtown, but wouldn't it make sense to incorporate some type of public parking component as part of their building project, as opposed to just a lot? They could even add a grocery store component on the first floor to offset some of the cost, as we desperately need a full-service grocery store in that area, with the growth of additional residents downtown.

My answer: "Just" a parking lot? Have you seen those vintage, rusting light poles on the edge of said lot? They're worth a trip down the slope just by themselves.

Real answer: While the clock is seriously ticking on this one, the developer says they still plan to build apartments.

"We are still planning on building apartments there," said Matt Maynard, development manager for Tribute. "The surface parking lot is a temporary use."

The 1.7-acre lot once was a car dealership, but it's been vacant for years.

In July 2016, Tribute's plans called for 139 studio, one- and two-bedroom units, which would have made the development the largest complex in downtown's Central Business District. The property is on the South Slope, which has been booming in recent years with breweries, apartments and businesses.

Last year, plans still called for more than 100 apartments. Maynard said Monday they're still going with the original plan.

"The plan is the same as what we have approved: 139 units in a wrap apartment building, with structured parking," he said.

The clock is seriously ticking.

"Their zoning approval expires in November of 2018," city of Asheville spokeswoman Polly McDaniel said last week. "It appears that both grading/stormwater and addressing have not been approved, either, and site permits have therefore not been issued."

In short, there are no active permits for that address, 185 Coxe Ave, McDaniel said.

"If you go the database you can see that the last active permits for that site were issued in 2015 and have either expired or were closed," she said.

Maynard said they intend to keep their zoning approval intact.

"We do not have a hard schedule, but yes, we need to get started before November to keep our entitlements," he said.

Last year some construction materials remained on site, but when I stopped by last week they were gone.

The lot does have a bunch of brand new concrete parking wheel stops, which seems to indicate the parking lot option is taking precedence for now.

Tax records show the property changed hands in March, 2014, with South Slope Holdings LLC taking ownership, with a price tag of $2 million.

Question: What ever happened to the spectacular Nativities by Tucker Cooke, the UNCA art professor and renowned artist? They used to be up around town every Christmas, but we haven't seen them in several years. We miss seeing them.

My answer: Are we still in the Christmas season? 'Cause I've got to be honest, I just just found this answered question in my email.

Real answer: McDaniel, the city spokeswoman, said she checked in with former Asheville Downtown Development Director Leslie Anderson for the background on this one.

Anderson said UNC Asheville Professor Emeritus S. Tucker Cooke, who chaired the UNCA Art Department for more than 30 years, "worked with his students in the mid-1980s to complete a large Madonna and Child painting."

This painting was displayed on the Biltmore Building property on Pack Square South, as part of the old Light Up Your Holidays festivities, Anderson said. Anderson estimated the painting as about 6-by-4-feet in size, and said it went up around 1986 and was ecumenical by design.

It was soon joined by a menorah painting to incorporate the Jewish Hanukkah celebration, also stationed on the same property, Anderson said. This painting featured nine lights, which were lit successively as Hanukkah progressed.

The Light Up Your Holidays festival was a collaboration between Asheville, the Asheville Area Arts Council and the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce. It was eventually replaced by First Night Asheville, Anderson said. First Night is defunct.

“In thinking about other nativity figures, as I recall, St. Joseph's Hospital also commissioned Tucker et.al. to do a larger scene for them,” Anderson said. “They were posted on Biltmore Avenue in front of the hospital for a number of years.”

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com